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Rick Perry walked up the stairs from the basement and stopped by the bar for a moment.
“They had a little Shiner problem here for a while,” the governor said as he approached a small gaggle of New York City press, referring to the famed Texas lager that was until recently, apparently, hard to spot outside the Lone Star State. “But I see they have taken care of it.”
Perry was at Hill Country, a Texas-themed eatery in Manhattan that features drinks in mason jars and a pit-smoked whole hog special, to sell New York businesses on the Texan way of doing things. It has been a full-frontal assault, with Perry appearing in television ads running around the state touting the Texas model of low taxes and less regulation.
“It is not just me that says the business environment is better,” he said, stretching his arms so that an embroidered “RP” was visible on his shirt cuff beneath a blue suit. “It is CEO magazine. It is a host of different publications and organizations that use a lot of different matrices.”
But in New York on Wednesday, the city’s reputation for sharp elbows seemed to be rubbing off on the governor, and he couldn’t help but needle his hosts.
He cited a tax study that showed New York was 48th out of 50 states in its tax burden, a move up two slots from the bottom spot.
“Making progress. Headed in the right direction. That is good,” he said, adding later: “Now, it’s small ball. But it is a move in the right direction.”
What about the fact that, well, some business owners would rather live on the Lower East Side than Laredo?
“The fact is you can’t sustain your life just on Broadway. There are other things that are really more important, like being able to keep more of your money.”
“I don’t argue the fact that New York has as vibrant a cultural arts scene as there is in the country,” he said. “I will give you that. California has beautiful weather, and Napa Valley is hard to compete with when it comes to wine. But the fact is, you can’t sustain your life just on Broadway. There are other things that are really more important, like being able to keep more of your money.”
New York, of course, has produced some ads of its own, ones that encourage tourism and tout the state’s business environment. Perry, in fact, had just seen one.
“You know, I was fascinated to see, as I was watching TV last night, you know the New York ads—which are really good, by the way—but why would you be showing them in New York City? I mean, just curious, why would you show that ad in New York City? Come to New York if you…” and he trailed off, as if any answer would be absurd.
Perry had come upstairs after a meeting with ambassadors from Texas and about 75 New York businesspeople considering a move. It was part of his TexasOne program, which, although irritating to his fellow governors, he said, had convinced business owners from around the country to try the Texas way. He declined to say who he was meeting with, for fear of causing a local dust-up—“As a general rule, until I get them in town, I don’t mention who they are”—but his aides said he was spending the weekend in meetings with several local businesses.
“They had a little Shiner problem here for a while,” the governor said as he approached a small gaggle of New York City press, referring to the famed Texas lager that was until recently, apparently, hard to spot outside the Lone Star State. “But I see they have taken care of it.”
Perry was at Hill Country, a Texas-themed eatery in Manhattan that features drinks in mason jars and a pit-smoked whole hog special, to sell New York businesses on the Texan way of doing things. It has been a full-frontal assault, with Perry appearing in television ads running around the state touting the Texas model of low taxes and less regulation.
“It is not just me that says the business environment is better,” he said, stretching his arms so that an embroidered “RP” was visible on his shirt cuff beneath a blue suit. “It is CEO magazine. It is a host of different publications and organizations that use a lot of different matrices.”
But in New York on Wednesday, the city’s reputation for sharp elbows seemed to be rubbing off on the governor, and he couldn’t help but needle his hosts.
He cited a tax study that showed New York was 48th out of 50 states in its tax burden, a move up two slots from the bottom spot.
“Making progress. Headed in the right direction. That is good,” he said, adding later: “Now, it’s small ball. But it is a move in the right direction.”
What about the fact that, well, some business owners would rather live on the Lower East Side than Laredo?
“The fact is you can’t sustain your life just on Broadway. There are other things that are really more important, like being able to keep more of your money.”
“I don’t argue the fact that New York has as vibrant a cultural arts scene as there is in the country,” he said. “I will give you that. California has beautiful weather, and Napa Valley is hard to compete with when it comes to wine. But the fact is, you can’t sustain your life just on Broadway. There are other things that are really more important, like being able to keep more of your money.”
New York, of course, has produced some ads of its own, ones that encourage tourism and tout the state’s business environment. Perry, in fact, had just seen one.
“You know, I was fascinated to see, as I was watching TV last night, you know the New York ads—which are really good, by the way—but why would you be showing them in New York City? I mean, just curious, why would you show that ad in New York City? Come to New York if you…” and he trailed off, as if any answer would be absurd.
Perry had come upstairs after a meeting with ambassadors from Texas and about 75 New York businesspeople considering a move. It was part of his TexasOne program, which, although irritating to his fellow governors, he said, had convinced business owners from around the country to try the Texas way. He declined to say who he was meeting with, for fear of causing a local dust-up—“As a general rule, until I get them in town, I don’t mention who they are”—but his aides said he was spending the weekend in meetings with several local businesses.
